Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel presents another balanced budget

For the third consecutive year, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has compiled a balanced budget without raising taxes, laying off workers or dipping into the county’s “rainy day” fund.

“This is pretty incredible to think where we were and where we’re headed,” Hackel said on Thursday. “This … is something in my opinion, to be proud of in Macomb County.”

The county has struggled to balance the budget since 2007 due to sharp declines in property tax revenues, falling state revenue sharing, and rising costs for health care and retiree benefits. The initial estimate for 2013 showed a projected budget deficit of $16.4 million.

The proposed $250 million budget that was presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval by Hackel cuts the 2013 county general fund by $9.2 million, or 4.8 percent, and achieves similar downsizing in other areas of county government. Most of the reductions will be accomplished through employee attrition, worker concessions, refinancing debt, and savings in basic operating costs such as utilities and contracts.

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The departments that would suffer manpower reductions — a total of 15 full-time employees and one part timer — are: the Health Department, Senior Citizen Services, Probate Court, IT Department, Facilities and Operations Department, Purchasing Department and the Reimbursement Department, which collects fees and fines for the Circuit Court.

Senior Services would be hit the hardest, after major cutbacks in the past at the small agency, with the elimination of two full-time and two part-time positions. The lesser workforce was made possible by the consolidation of all adult day care services into a single location at the VerKuilen Building on the outskirts of Mount Clemens.

For months, county officials pondered 2013 with trepidation because, after years of cuts, it was unclear how the new budget could be balanced one more time.

But county Finance Director Pete Provenzano now believes that the county sees the “light at the end of the tunnel” as property assessments are expected to drop only 2 percent next year and the backlog of high-priced property tax appeals by industry and commercial businesses has nearly disappeared.

As for the worker concessions, Provenzano said the county will negotiate a continuation contract with the unions for 2013 that includes six unpaid “furlough” days, minimal longevity bonuses, and the maintenance of reduced pay and benefit levels from previous years.

“The assumption is that these labor concessions will continue through 2015,” the finance director said, referring to a new approach of developing projected budgets that extend an additional two years into the future.

Since 2009, the county has eliminated approximately 281 positions, mostly through attrition and often by taking advantage of employee retirements. County department heads have found that they can save considerable funds by keeping a vacant position unfilled for up to six months.

Last year, the county saved $9 million through these employee turnover tactics and they anticipate another $6 million saved next year.

In 2009, the county board raised taxes to the maximum 4.5 mills but, less than four years later, the revenue gain from that hike has disappeared due to falling home prices.

After enduring reductions in property assessments — sometimes in the double-digit range — for six years, the county expects stabilization in the housing market for 2014 and a slight jump in property tax revenues for 2015.

“Now that we have our spending under control,” Provenzano said, “we hopefully can ride this out until the revenues start to increase.”